Subscribe to RSSThe Gates
December 8th, 2008 | by Alive Mind Education | published in Film Info, Films U-Z, The Gates
Albert Maysles and his brother David (who died in 1987), who are best known for such films as Salesman, Grey Gardens, Gimme Shelter, began filming THE GATES in 1979, when internationally acclaimed artists Christo and Jeanne-Claude began actively pushing their installation project forward with the New York City government. The Maysles captured the emerging controversy at community board hearings that pitted neighbor against neighbor over the appropriate use of Central Park. While Christo and Jeanne-Claude’s artistic vision sought to unite all of New York City, the public reaction was accusations of publicly financed defacement of a masterpiece, akin to putting a mustache on the Mona Lisa at tax payers’ expense. The proposal was denied. Twenty-four years later, after 9/11 and the election of art patron Michael Bloomberg as mayor, the project was approved in January, 2003. The subsequent film, brought to fruition by Antonio Ferrera and co-directed with Albert Maysles, chronicles the evolution of The Gates from concept to installation, ultimately overcoming public disapproval and transforming Central Park into a visual symphony of color, light, joy and beauty at an eventual cost to Christo and Jeanne-Claude of $21 million. The event, which brought over 4 million visitors from around the world to Central Park in mid-winter, is lovingly captured in this masterful film which ultimately asks the question: What is the role of art today?
Alive Mind Education is very proud to announce that The Gates
was listed as one of Video Librarian’s Best Documentaries of 2009!
THE GATES Product Information
Year: 2008
Grade Level: Grades 10-12, college and university
Subjects: Arts, Architectural Studies
Set: DVD Only
Total Running Time: 98 minutes
ISBN-10: 0-9820814-6-4
ISBN-13: 978-0-9820814-6-4
Educational Prices:
Educational with Public Performance Rights: $249.00
Educational without Public Performance Rights: $129.00
Note: If you are unable to pay via PayPal, please contact info@alivemindeducation.com or call us at 212-398-3112 to order this title.
For public exhibition inquiries please contact us for more details!
Additional Information
Reviews
“I can’t imagine a better choice for the closing-night film of the 2007 Tribeca Film Festival…
a stunning, beautiful, deeply moving documentary about the art project by installation artists
Christo and Jeanne-Claude.”
- MaryAnn Johanson, Flick Filosopher, May 2007
“Ferrara and Maysles orchestrate the construction, installation and deployment of the gates as a
three-part symphony, ending with a two-week improvisational interlude, as hundreds of thousands
of New Yorkers flock to the park in February. As the mega-artwork is transformed by snow, sunsets
and streams of people, the brightly colored 23 miles of pathways transform the wintry landscape
into a fantastical garden of dancing cloth.”
- Ronnie Scheib, Daily Variety, May 2007